AIPAC backed pro-'Israel' candidate with $8.5 mln to unseat opponent
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AIPAC "helps" yet another pro-Israeli candidate oust his opponent, who is against the war on Gaza, after spending $8.5 million against her.
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St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell is seen during an inauguration ceremony for Mayor Ella Jones on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, in Ferguson, Missouri. (AP)
St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell has emerged victorious over US Representative Cori Bush in a closely watched Democratic primary in St. Louis, which marks the second time this year that a party incumbent loses their seat to another candidate due to the latter being favored due to their pro-Israeli stance.
Bush, a prominent member of the progressive congressional group known as the "Squad," was seeking her third term representing Missouri's 1st Congressional District, which encompasses St. Louis city and parts of St. Louis County. She has made many statements condemning the Israeli genocide in Gaza.
Bell, with strong support from his party, is now heavily favored to win this overwhelmingly Democratic district in the upcoming November elections, where the Democratic Party aims to regain control of the US House of Representatives.
"I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency, and dedication. Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive," Bell said in his victory statement.
Bell's campaign significantly benefited from the backing of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose super political action committee, United Democracy Project (UDP), invested $8.5 million to unseat Bush. She faced criticism and targeting due to her vocal disapproval of the Israeli occupation's response to October 7's Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.
This strategy had previously succeeded in New York, where UDP spent $15 million in June to defeat another Squad member, US Representative Jamaal Bowman, who lost to George Latimer, a pro-Israeli occupation centrist.
A 'victory' but only for 'Israel'
A statement from UDP sought to paint this as a victory, claiming that the victories of Bell and Latimer, as well as that of Republican Bob Good, were evidence that pro-Israeli policies resonate across the political spectrum, not giving any credit to the tens of millions of dollars spent to get said candidates into their place.
"UDP will continue our efforts to support leaders working to strengthen the US-Israel alliance while countering detractors in either political party," the statement read.
Bush, remaining steadfast in her beliefs during her concession speech, declared, "We will keep supporting a free Palestine," to which a crowd member responded, "Free, free Palestine."
Bush had previously described the Israeli onslaught on Gaza as an "ethnic cleansing campaign" and criticized the Israeli occupation's actions on social media.
This controversy led Bell, who had initially planned a Senate run against incumbent Republican Josh Hawley to challenge Bush instead.
In response to the influence of AIPAC donors, Bush remarked that they also support former President Donald Trump and other Republicans. "This is only the beginning," she said. "Because if they can unseat me, then they're going to continue to come after more Democrats."
Pro-Palestine Congress members to lose
This was predicted by The Washington Post back in March, wherein they underlined that some of the best members of Congress may be removed this year as they are facing massive spending campaigns as punishment for holding viewpoints that differ from those of the affluent and powerful, most notably their vehement opposition to the Israeli war on Gaza.
Perry Bacon Jr. details in the Post that the 18 members of Congress in question had repeatedly asked for a ceasefire when they realized the Israeli response in Gaza to events of October 7 would be "full-scale destruction of Gaza."
This group includes Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York), Jamaal Bowman, Ilhan Omar, Cori Bush, and Barbara Lee.
With Biden and most other leaders in both parties mainly backing "Israel", the members stood firm in their rejection, which is essentially why the highly pro-"Israel" AIPAC wants them removed from parliament. AIPAC has recruited Democrats to run against the progressives in primaries, and those rivals would get tens of millions of dollars.
Significant campaigns are underway against Bowman of New York, Omar of Minnesota, and Lee. Bacon believed these members have a genuine risk of losing since there will be no well-funded PAC on their side to save them.
In reality, challengers typically lose because incumbents can raise and spend far more on their campaigns. However, these progressive incumbents will most certainly have significantly less money for TV advertising and other campaign activity in their districts than their opponents (AIPAC and the real politicians they are running against).
AIPAC running the show
Two years ago, AIPAC and numerous moderate Democratic groups spent extensively in Democratic primaries to prevent the election of more progressive lawmakers.
This year, AIPAC is taking a more aggressive approach, attempting not just to prevent new progressives from being elected to Congress but also to reduce the number currently in office.
Recently, a group of over 100 liberal Jewish activists said in a joint letter that they "strongly oppose AIPAC’s attempts to dominate Democratic primary elections" as they urged candidates "to not accept AIPAC network funding."
Bacon believes that incumbent Democrats in extremely blue areas understand they have a choice: remain mute on how "Israel" treats Palestinians and risk few primary challenges or speak out and face well-funded, heated criticism from fellow Democrats.
Similarly, former US legislative staffer Rodney Martin said AIPAC and other pro-"Israel" lobby groups in the United States have successfully choked the US government.
Martin, who is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, made the statements in an exclusive interview for PressTV on Wednesday, while remarking on Washington's stance of sending weaponry to "Israel" in its murderous campaign against Gaza.
Martin detailed how the US "flooding" the occupation with weapons was far from new, noting that AIPAC and other Zionist groups have "successfully placed a chokehold on the United States’ government, primarily historically on the Congress."
